TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Buddhism originated from Hinduism as a
reaction to the excessive ritualism and social problems. The social, cultural
and religious condition of that time ultimately leads to the reaction against
the Brahmanism. Buddhism has played vital role in the formation of Indian
history. In this paper I have tried to put some of the main contributions which
Buddhism made to come into reality in Indian history. The whole paper has been
divided into four main chapters namely: Social impact, Religious impact,
Cultural impact and Political views. These chapters have been divided into
several sub-topics.
In this paper I have tried to take
Romila Thapar’s writings as main highlights. She was born in 1931 and comes from a
Punjabi family. She spent her early years in various parts of India. She took
her first degree from Punjab University and her doctorate from London
University. She was appointed to a Readership at Delhi University and subsequently
to the Chair in Ancient Indian History at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New
Delhi, where she is now Emeritus Professor in History. Romila Thapar is also an
Honorary Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and has been Visiting Professor
at Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania as well as the College
de France in Paris. In 1983 she was elected General President of the Indian
History Congress and in 1999 a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.
In the light of her writings, I have
given my best to share my findings on the contributions of Buddhism in the
formation of Indian history through different sources. All the sources I have
used are to support the main topic. The impacts which Buddhism made in the
ancient India are worthwhile even today. The Buddhism has played such a role
which can never be forgotten especially in the light of equality for all the
people on this earth. For the Buddha no one was better than the other or no one
was higher in any way. For all are unique in their own way. That is why he
shared his first experiences among the poor and simple people. He did not
regard anyone as useless or as powerful but considered everyone unique. Like
class or caste, sex made no difference for membership of the Sangha (group) he started. In accepting
men and women belonging to low class and poor people, the Buddha completely
ignored all disabilities arising from birth, occupation, caste or creed.
Whoever renounced the world and accepted a homeless life and followed the Dhamma
(law) was admitted into the Sangha.
CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND
We need to keep in mind that Buddhism
arose in the background of primitive socio-economic and political conditions
and three trends of religious thought in India, i.e. Vedic, Brahmanic, and
Upanishadic thought. Vedic religion was a worship religion of gods and
goddesses; Brahmanic religion was based on highly developed ritualism; and
Upanishadic way of life was speculative.[1]
We also need to keep in mind that just at the advent of Irano-Indians in the
Indus Valley; they confronted a different outlook and subsumed it in their own culture.
Thus they create a rich culture and religion. At that time the Buddha brought
together two distinct ways of life comprising different socio-political outlooks
and a new way of life was propounded, which grew and developed into Buddhism. Being
a Hindu dominated country; India was ruled by so called upper class people of
the country. Namely it was Brahmins who ruled the country and made use of the
rules which were favourable to them. They made sure that all the rules and
regulations favour them and the so-called lower class or untouchables remain at
the lower strata of the society.
Actually the Buddhist tradition
originated at a time when tribal loyalty was changing into territorial loyalty
and there was a sharper awareness of political organization. Buddhism began as
one of a number of heterodox sects whose common feature was their breaking away
from brahmanical orthodoxy. The republican tradition found its echo in the
teachings of both Mahavira and the Buddha. Absence of monarchical
authoritarianism and close association with the idea of divinity in the
political sphere both led to a stress on the rights of the individual in
society. This was further emphasized when in the early stages Buddhism became
popular amongst the emergent commercial classes who gave it more than
lip-service. In Buddhism the center of gravity lies within the individual, in
his or her own private experience which must furnish proof of the truth of what
is first of all assumed to be worthy of confidence.[2]
CHAPTER TWO
SOCIAL IMPACT
The social situation during the ancient
India was pathetic for most of the people. The society was divided into four
groups based on occupation. The Brahmins possessed the highest position in the
society. They considered themselves superiors and regarded Sudras as
untouchables. Only the upper classes of the social ladder enjoyed their life to
the fullest. They established the supremacy of dandaniti as a system which puts the Sudras and others into
perpetual bondage. The lower classes people like Dalits and Tribals and also
many untouchable tribes had tough time in the society. The minorities in the
country have been targeted from the time immemorial. It was applicable in education and in
employment for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, who were included among the
minorities, a nomenclature derived from constitutional usage. They were
constantly a source of considerable resentment on the part of caste Hindus who
regard it as a threat to their opportunities for upward mobility. Built into
this kind of communalism, therefore, is the implicit factor of keeping the
Dalits oppressed; for even if the policy of reservation is dropped, any
concessions made to Dalits would be resented. It has been recorded even in the
past in what may be called the crisis of the Kaliyuga. On repeated occasions
from the first millennium AD onwards there have been descriptions of the evils
of the Kaliyuga, when the rise of the lower castes is seen as evidence of the
world being turned upside down.[3]
However there were many changes seen in
the society in the advent of Buddhism. India is a land of ancient
civilization. India's social, economic, and cultural configurations are the
products of a long process of regional expansion. Indian history begins with
the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization and the coming of the Aryans. These
two phases are usually described as the pre-Vedic and Vedic age. Hinduism arose
in the Vedic period. The fifth century saw the unification of India under
Ashoka, who had converted to Buddhism, and it is in his reign that Buddhism
spread in many parts of Asia. The 6th Century B.C. was a period of great tumult
in India. The kingdom of Magadha, one of the 16 great Janapadas had become
paramount over other kingdoms of the Ganges Valley. This period also saw the
emergence of various heterodox sects in India. This was the time when Buddhism
and Jainism emerged as popular protestant movements to pose a serious challenge
to Brahmanic orthodoxy.
The Buddhists were more analytical than
earlier thinkers in their views on man and society, but they did not feel it necessary
to suggest a complete reorganization of the social structure. To that degree,
Buddhism in its historical role touched the chords of social protest but went
no further. This was perhaps because the groups for which it was projecting a
new ideology ceased to be the protesters at a certain historical point and
became the heirs. The element of social protest in Buddhism was therefore
limited to providing the intellectual encouragement and justification for the
formation of new elite.[4]
This period was followed by the Mauryas of whom the most famous was Ashoka the
Great. The boundaries of his empire extended from Kashmir and Peshawar in the
North and Northwest to Mysore in the South and Orissa in the East. But his fame
did not rest so much on military conquests as on his celebrated renunciation of
war. Buddhist social code stress broad ethical principles of general
application to a variety of social groups into the new patterns. The
integration was easier at the theoretical level. But at the practical level
there was a tendency to separate ritual status from actual status. Social roles
were not entirely dependent on the one or the other. The older traditions and
norms were thus placated and the new entrants into the social hierarchy were
not entirely disappointed. At the root of the social and legal thinking they
believed that government was an unfortunate necessity in an age of decay. Such
a belief implied that society existed prior to any governmental organization.
The effect of the society is more important than any form of government. The
Indian mind therefore concerned itself with the quest for a perfect social
system. People tended to keep together in groups based on their occupations and
these occupational groups gradually crystallized into castes.
The Buddhist message of social equality
and communal harmony had left a deep impression on the mind of the Indian
people which continued after the transformation of the classical Buddhist
movement. A number of instances in the myths and stories of the Mahabharata
reveal that moral and intellectual attainments carried greater prestige than
mere birth in a Brahmanical family. The task of fighting the evils of casteism
and untouchability was continued by the Buddhist siddhas, the adepts in Tantrika
culture, during the early mediaeval centuries. A large number of these siddhas
came from lower caste families, but their greatness was assured by their
success (siddhi) in esoteric culture (sadhana). This mission of social reform
was then resumed by the saint-poets of the bhakti movement throughout the
Middle-Ages. Though these saint-poets (sants)
were generally speaking within the fold of the Brahmanical Hindu religious
tradition, yet they revolted freely against many fundamental dogmas and
authentic customs of traditional Brahmanism. Their social and moral teachings
were more in keeping with Buddhism than with Brahmanism. All of them
disregarded the rules of the varṇa-ashrama-dharma scheme and attacked social
distinctions based on birth and profession. Many of them were born in Sudra
families. They became exalted through their pure character, sincere devotion
and magnanimity.
2.1 Sangha
Buddhism made profound impact on Indian
social life in several ways. Its leaders and teachers continuously criticized
the theory of castes and ridiculed the false claims to superiority based on
birth and colour. On the other hand, Buddhism opened the doors to higher
religious life and the highest goal for all those who sought them, including
the members of the lower strata of society. The Sangha gradually acquired a strong sense of mission. This is
evident from the frequency of the councils determining the true doctrine and
the splintering off of sects within the Sangha
after the death of the Buddha, each claiming to represent the true doctrine. Although
Buddhism was not concerned with the abolition of castes, it did oppose the
caste-system and repeatedly taught the evils of casteism. Another aspect of
Buddhist social contribution was towards the emancipation of women from social inhibitions.
Buddhism, along with Jainism but unlike Brahmanism, gave equal opportunity in
religious culture to women.
Another aspect of Buddhist contribution
in ancient India lay in the area of social harmony and racial integration on a
national scale. It was through Buddhist influence and teaching of social
harmony and tolerance that foreign invaders such as the Greeks, Sakas,
Pahlavas, Kusaṇas and Hunas who came to India and settled here, in the course
of centuries immediately preceding and following the Christian era, were
assimilated by Indian society. This was a permanent contribution to social
integration and national growth and it could not have been so easily
accomplished in a strictly Brahmanical scheme of social gradation without the
wholesome effects of the Buddhist disregard for varṇa-organisation and respect
for the liberty of the individual. We are of the view that had Buddhism been a
living force at the time of the Turkish invasions, the problems of Hindu-Muslim
communal discord in medieval and modern India would not have taken such a
strong turn as they did.
Because of the revival of the
traditional Brahmanical social scheme, reinforced with fresh religious
injunctions, and because of the decline of Buddhism in India after the tenth
century CE, the mass of early medieval Islamic followers in India could not be
assimilated and digested by Indian society. Arnold J. Toynbee has rightly
remarked that “If either Buddhism or Jainism had succeeded in captivating the
Indic World, caste might have been got rid of. As it turned out, however, the
role of universal church in the last chapter of the Indic decline and fall was
played by Hinduism, a parvenu archaistic syncretism of things new and old; and
one of the old things to which Hinduism gave a new lease of life was caste.”[5]
2.2 Educational System
The Buddhists contribution in the field
of education was also a remarkable one. Buddhist monasteries were open to
persons of any castes; even the syllabuses had a wider range and included
disciplines of more practical interests. It was not seen in Hindu tradition for
they practiced discrimination between the castes. The field of education was
completely monopolized by the Brahmins. Patriarchal society suppressed women.
They denied giving the women right of education. Only the upper castes were
entitled to receive formal education. Frequently it was only the Brahmins and
the aristocracy who received formal education. On the other hand, in Buddhist
monasteries formal education was available for all. It did not make any
distinction as Hinduism did. Buddhist
monasteries took students from a shorter time of about ten years, but those
wishing to be ordained as monks had to remain longer. Nalanda, in South Bihar,
became the foremost Buddhist monastic and educational centre in the north, attracting
students from places as distant as China and south-east Asia. This was possible
because it had an income from a large number of villages granted to it for its
upkeep.[6]
When the Buddha founded the ideal of Sangha
at Varanasi, he commanded his monks saying to them walk, monks, on your tour
for the blessing of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion
for the world, for the welfare, the blessing, the happiness of devas and men.
Monks, teach Dhamma which is a blessing in the begging, a blessing in the middle,
and a blessing in the end.
Buddhist monastic colleges and universities
of ancient India threw open their doors to all those who wished to know, irrespective
of caste, colour, creed or country. This
universal attitude and catholic spirit of Buddhist culture and its educational
centers earned a great international reputation for India and attracted
students and scholars from far-off countries. The same cannot be said of the
Brahmanical system of education and its institutions. It is therefore quite
proper to attribute to the influence of Buddhism the rise of organized public
educational institutions in ancient India. The influence of Buddhist monastic
and educational institutions on the growth and propagation of Indian culture
can scarcely be overestimated. It was through Buddhism that Indian art,
literature, thought and morals were transmitted throughout the length and
breadth of Asia during the first millennium of the Christian era. In India it
was after the Buddhist model of an organized institution of monks that Saṃkara-Carya
established Advaita seats with an ordained and regulated community of Saiva-Vedantika
monks. Charles Eliot was right when he observed that the monastic institutions of
India seem due to Buddhism.
2.2.1 Scientific Contributions
Buddhism made many scientific
contributions to the Indian history. Aryabhatta, in AD 499, seemed to have been
very much influenced by the Buddhists as he worked in the Nalanda University as
teacher. He was the first astronomer and scientist to tackle the more
fundamental problems of the new studies. He calculated pi to 3.1416 and the
length of the solar year to 365.3586805 days, both close to recent estimates.
He discovered zero. He believed that the earth was a sphere and rotated on its
axis, and that the shadow of the earth falling on the moon caused eclipses. A
close contemporary, Varahamihira, the growing interest in horoscopy and
astrology was included in the study of astronomy and mathematics. The interest in medicine triggered off a
tangential interest in alchemy. This became essential to a variety of
experimental forms of knowledge, relating not only to the study of material
substances, but to those with an influence on religious beliefs concerning the
transmutation of mind and matter. Alchemy was examined in some detail by the
Chinese and an area where Indian information on the subject was valuable.[7] The interest in alchemy developed in the
early centuries A.D., mostly when both mercury and sulphur were available and
their properties were familiar to the people. Nagarjuna, the Buddhist
philosopher, is described as being conversant with alchemy.[8]
The number system was also invented in ancient India. The Indus valley
civilization was one of the most advanced civilizations in terms of town
planning etc. During the ancient period there were many famous and important
centers of learning in India - Taxila and Nalanda, where thousands of students
from all over studied different subjects.
In the third-fourth centuries B.C., in
the Ashokan times, there were great advances in veterinary science. For
treatment of elephants, "Palkapya Samhita" and for treatment of
horses, "Shalihotra Samhita" were written. We find in his edicts,
mention of hospitals established by him for men and animals even in far off
places in south India. All this shows the growth of Veterinary science in
India. All these show that Indian science was well advanced up to sixth century.
One has to ponder over what were the reasons which not only obstructed the
progress of science, but also destroyed what was already achieved. One has to
understand the history, literature and puranas, and social conditions to find
these out. It is clear from the dates, that the age of progress of science in
India was the age of glory of Buddhism. Acharya Charak was the 'rajvaidya' in
the court of Buddhist emperor, Kanishka, of the first century A.D. Buddhist
philosopher Nagarjuna was also their contemporary. He was also famous
physician. The contribution of Charak to "Charak Samhita" is as
important as Nagarjuna's contribution to "Sushrut Samhita". Whatever
knowledge of ayurveda was being spread through the oral traditional method of Guru-Sishya teaching was revised and
reduced to writing in the times of Buddhist rulers. During the early centuries
of Christian era, medical science was on zenith. In this development, the
contribution of Buddhists was enormous. Through them, the knowledge spread all
over the other foreign countries.[9]
2.3 Equality in the Society
The Buddhist tradition protested
against the institution of caste. It recognized that in the routine working of
society there were bound to be social distinctions, but maintained that these
should not be exploited to the point of rejecting the concept that all human
beings are equal. During the time of the Buddha, there were feudal monarchies
of Magadha, Vediha, Kashi and Khosla, which were visited by the Buddha before
and after his enlightenment. The Buddha’s own kingdom was a feudal monarchy,
which he had left in search of his noble quest. He has seen how the common man
lived; how the feudal monarchs oppressed the people. In his own kingdom he had
witnessed how his father, Shuddhodana ruled. He wanted to have something
different in the society. He moved about and lived with the poor and the despised
people, living in tribal organizations. Not that he disliked so-called upper
caste people, rich and wealthy potentates; he went to them also. His outlook
was cosmic. He wanted to show the way (sukkha)
out of dukkha (suffering) of life, in
which both the rich and the poor were involved. But he first went to the common
folks of the day. This illustration would make some more sense of his concern
for all the people on the face of the earth. The story is of a conversation
with King Ajatashatru, whose father Bimbisar had extended his kingdom of
Bediha, Kashi, and Khosla. The occasion of the conversation was of a slave, who
had been in king Ajatashatru’s service, but now a follower of the Buddha. The
Blessed Lord spoke to the king and said: “If a servant or a slave, who was in
your service, leaves you, puts on the yellow robe, becomes a clean shaven person,
and lives like a Bukku, following the Dhamma, would you claim him as your
servant-slave, so that he may stand in your presence, and faithfully execute
your orders and serve you day and night? The king replied, no Lord. I would
myself bow to him, treat him as a free man, and supply all his needs. In
sickness or in health I will help him.”[10] The Buddha was frequently asked about the
relative purity of the four castes and invariably replied that all castes were
equally pure. Buddhism was in favour of the equality for all before the law.
Any offender brought before justice must be judged and punished according to
his offence and without any concession to immunities or privileges relating to
his caste.
Many of the followers of the Buddha
were men and women of the poor and backward classes and castes. The poor and
the despised persons of low castes were the first to come and follow him. They
saw in the Buddha, the great emancipator of people from their pains, miseries
and sufferings, showing the way to realize sukkha
(relief) from the ills of life.
Sangharakshita explains in his book Ambedkar and Buddhism that
Ambedkar came from a Mahar family which was considered to be one of the
untouchables then. Since he belonged to lower and untouchable group, he had to
suffer a lot by the Upper Caste. Although he was born as a Hindu but he
preferred to die not as a Hindu but something else. He wanted to uplift
so-called untouchable and to bring them in the main stream of the society. He
found Buddhism as a suitable religion to work for the equality among all. So,
he embraced Buddhism on 14 October 1956 in Nagpur and then in his turn
administered 380,000 untouchable men, women and children to the Buddhism.[11]
He is considered to be the second Ashoka who brought significant changes in the
history of Buddhism thus in India. He worked and labored relentlessly only to
bring equality in the larger society.
2.3.1 Upliftment of the Women
In the history women have been seen as
something to be enjoyed and as the objects of exploitation. They were dealt with not as human beings but
as animals. Hinduism considered them not less than animals. In the advent of
Buddhism we find that women have equal place in the society which was not found
in Hinduism. Family ties were a major obstacle to renunciation, and women were
symbolic of these ties. Yet during this time it was only the Jaina and Buddhist
orders that nuns were permitted and the women were drawn largely from urban
society and the royal households as well.[12]
Ashoka also gave high importance to women. Many women archers served as king’s
bodyguard who also accompanied him on hunts. Women were liable to be employed
by the state as spies and performers. Women of the upper castes who had become
impoverished or widowed, wives who had been deserted or aging prostitutes could
get work from the state, such as spinning yarn, but their movements had to be
circumspect. A peasant fallen into debt, his wife was required to continue
farming his land if he still held it, so that the debt could be cleared. If a
slave woman gave birth to her master’s child, both she and the child were
immediately manumitted. Women camp followers probably came from the same
profession.[13]
Buddha considered and respected all
human beings and the creation as equal. He disapproved the notion of women
discrimination which was observed by the Hinduism. Very often we hear that the
Buddha rejected the view of his contemporaries that the birth of a daughter was
a bad news. His words have been recorded as being said to king Pasenadi after
the king’s wife gave birth to a daughter:
“A
woman child, O lord of men, may prove
Even
better offspring than a male
For
she may grow up wise and virtuous
Her
husband’s mother reverencing, true wife
The
boy that she might bear may do great deeds
A report prepared to mark South Asia’s
Year of the Girl Child says that although girls are born biologically stronger,
three hundred thousand more girls than boys die each year. Many of them are
aborted after sex detection tests. A study conducted in 1984 mentions that
7,999 of 8,000 aborted fetuses tested at a Bombay Clinic were female. Although
it is rampant in India today, the custom of female infanticide seems to have
been extremely rare in Buddhist times.[15]
Thus we see that Buddhism is a model religion which gives equal importance to
women. Even we find that they care for all the living beings no matter what may
be on the face of the earth. Unlike in Christianity and Hinduism, in Buddhism
marriage is not a sacrament. It is purely secular contract and Buddhist monks
do not participate in it. All need to learn from each other where there is room
for all to be better human beings who cares for each for what he or she is on
the face of the earth.
CHAPTER THREE
RELIGIOUS IMPACT
In the ancient India, it was only the
orthodox Hinduism which prevailed everywhere. The mode of worships, rituals and
religious ceremonies were interpreted by the Brahmins to suit their interests.
The Vedas, Aranyakas, Mimamsakas and Upanishads were written to perpetuate the
hegemony of the Brahmins. They were more concerned with the activity of
pleasing the devtas rather than
welfare of the humanity. During this
time Buddha started his preaching mission with those he had known before his
enlightenment. The first group he approached was the five ascetics with whom he
had lived. His sense of friendship was such that he did not reject them as
individuals, even though he rejected their philosophy. He wanted to share with
them his newly won insight into liberation and travelled 150 miles to meet
them. At first they rejected listening to him but later on when they were ready
to listen, he started his exposition of his new system of liberation, which he
termed the Middle Path. The monastic Order that the Buddha established has a
very special place among all the monastic Orders that the world has known.
Buddha’s monastic Order, in its earliest form, was probably the only Order in
the history of mankind that had no rite, no ritual and no sacrifice. Buddhism
does not have or believe in any Supreme Being as God. It probably would have
been also the least ascetic of all the Orders that the world had known because its rejected the very principle that asceticism had a
liberative value.[16]
Buddha sent missionaries to countries
as remote as Greece and Egypt. The empire enjoyed remarkable prosperity during
his reign. Prominent in this cause were his son Venerable Mahindra and daughter
Sanghamitra (whose name means “friend
of the Sangha”), who established
Buddhism in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) where it is still the major religion. He
built thousands of Stupas and Viharas for Buddhist followers. At the
metaphysical level Buddhist thought are concerned primarily with the ultimate
destiny of man – a transcendent, spiritual state where the soul finds salvation
or the individual consciousness attains extinction. At this level of thinking
the necessities and requirements of social life have at most a transitory
value. Considerable emphasis is placed of the universal quality of all human
beings, on the values of tolerance and compassion and on the need for harmony
between man and nature through recognition of the rights of each who would lead
to spiritual peace.
The chief function of religion is the
liberation of human beings from their inner suffering. Any elements that do not
serve that purpose are useless. The Eightfold Path contains all that is
necessary to heal human beings from their inner suffering. The ultimate quest
for spiritual peace led to a dichotomy between metaphysical thinking which
encouraged a withdrawal from life and the actual social institutions which were
almost obsessed with the ideal of a purposeful ordering of life. The social and
legal literature suggests that the metaphysical attitude was an ideal to which
many have aspired but which few achieved.
Metaphysical values arose out of two
disparate socio-economic backgrounds which are seen in the differing attitudes
to human rights. Arising out of its stern and unwavering ethical code, the
Buddhist tradition supported the unqualified supremacy of moral law over
politics. Law is for the welfare of all mankind. The same idea of the
application of a moral law and the equality of human beings was extended to all
created beings, and this was to result in the concept of ahimsa (non-violence).
Sacrifice is essentially an offering; consequently it lies not in the
destruction of life but in the embodiment of moral values that become the
foundation for ethical behavior in honouring parents, in honouring all the
members of the household from the highest to the lowest, in having patience,
meekness, and self-control. These values are both conservative and
conciliatory. Yet the element of radicalism in this view is the inclusion of
slaves and workmen as deserving of honour.
3.1 Laws in Buddhism (Dharma)
The word Dharma (Sanskrit) or Dhamma
(Pali) is used in most or all philosophies and religions of Indian origin, the Dharmic
faiths, namely Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. In
its oldest form, Dharman, it first appears in the Vedas. The status of the
Dharma is regarded variably by different traditions. Some regard it as an
ultimate and transcendent truth which is utterly beyond worldly things,
somewhat like the Christian logos. In Buddhism, the word in particular points
to the law of karma and rebirth. Because this law was recognized and formulated
by the historical Buddha, dharma is most commonly used in Buddhism to mean
"the teachings of the Buddha." Dharma is also used in Mahayana
Buddhism to mean "manifestation of reality." This sense can be found
in the Heart Sutra, which refers to the voidness or emptiness (Shunyata) of all
Dharmas. In Theravada Buddhism, dharma is a term for the factors of existence,
or the transitory conditions that cause phenomena to come into being. Dharma is
also sometimes used to refer to ethical rules and to mental objects or
thoughts.
As Dhamma has no personal attributes, it
is even difficult to say it is good or bad or anything that has any superlative
or comparative quality. It is beyond the dualistic conceptions of mind. It brings
back into the present, and gives a sense of immediacy, of now. It is not
something that Dhamma is some kind of thing that is out there, but Sanditthiko Dhamma
means that it is immanent, here and now. Taking refuge in Dhamma is taking
another safe refuge. It is not taking refuge in philosophy or intellectual
concepts, in theories, in ideas, in doctrines or beliefs of any sort. It is not
taking refuge in a belief in Dhamma, or a belief in God or in some kind of
force in outer space or something beyond or something separate, something to be
found sometime later. The descriptions of the Dhamma keeps the believers in the
present, in the here and now, unbound by time. I want to get away from
suffering and ignorance and become something else. This is the conceiving mind,
the desire mind, the mind that always deludes us. Rather than constantly
thinking in terms of becoming something we take refuge in being Dhamma in the
present.
The principles of Dhamma were such that
they would have been acceptable to people belonging to any religions. Dhamma
was not defined in terms of caste duties and regulations and was left vague in
details. Refraining from the violence was another principle of Dhamma, which
included the renunciation of war and conquest by violence, as well as a
restrain on the killing of animals.[17]
The impersonality of Dhamma bothers many people because devotional religion
tends to personify everything and people coming from such traditions do not feel
right if they cannot have some sort of personal relationship with it. One
cannot have a personal relationship with Dhamma, one cannot say 'Love the
Dhamma!' or 'The Dhamma loves me!' There is no need for that. We only need a
personal relationship with something we are not yet, like our mother, father,
husband or wife, something separate from us.
We do not need to take refuge in mother
or father again, someone to protect us and love us and say I love you no matter
what you do. Everything is going to be alright and pat us on the head. The
Buddha Dhamma is a very maturing refuge; it is a religious practice that is a
complete sanity or maturity, in which we are no longer seeking a mother or
father, because we do not need to become anything anymore. We do not need to be
loved or protected by anyone anymore because we can love and protect others and
that is all that is important. We no longer have to ask or demand things from
others, whether it is from other people or even some deity or force that we
feel is separate from us and has to be prayed to and asked for guidance. We
give up all our attempts to conceive Dhamma as being this or that or anything
at all and let go of our desire to have a personal relationship with the truth.
We have to be that truth here and now. Being that truth, taking that refuge,
calls for an immediate awakening, for being wise now, being Buddha, being
Dhamma in the present.
3.2 Understanding of Nibbana or Nirvana
In the world, there cannot be a
religion without salvation. The word salvation
means the act of saving. Nirvana is regarded as the highest goal of the
endeavors of a Buddhist aspirant. The central theme in Buddhist religion and
philosophy is the nirvana. It has nature of both positive fulfillment as well
as negative extinction. Salvation is the act of saving from sin and its
consequences. Buddhism is not a religion through which one is saved from one's
sin and its consequences. The word sin in Pali is Papa. Buddha’s great aim was
to seek release from the chain of existence and show the way to Nirvana. Nirvana
has been explained in various ways. Each Sangha
of Buddhism interpreted it in its own way. Nirvana is Moksha (release) from the three motive forces of life; and as such
man, when he enters Nirvana rids himself from all pain, misery and suffering.[18]
There are two great branches: Hinnayana and Mahayana Buddhism. But each of
these has its various branches, which explain Nirvana as it seemed desirable
and proper from its own point of view. Now in Buddhism sin is not an unconditioned
phenomenon. In the Dhamma, the root of sin is the
Kilesas, namely the defilements which are another name for Lobha which is greed, Dosha which is hatred and Moha which is usually translated as delusion. So while most other religions
offer to save human beings from sin, what
Buddhism does, it offers to save one from the kilesas.
The Buddha was fully alive to the Neti Neti (not this, not this) position
of Yagya Valkiya concerning the nature of Ultimate Reality. Just as the nature
of Ultimate Reality of the upainshadic sage cannot be described in category of
thought, so Buddha’s conception of Nirvana, the Ultimate Reality of Buddhism,
cannot be described in words. These experiences of the Buddha, meeting common
people, kings and sages led him to present a way of life, based on Dhamma (law)
and realized in Nirvana. One who wants to tread the path of liberation must be
conscious of the imperfection of his present state of existence and must have
the earnest desire to overcome it, as well as a notion concerning the causes of
his imperfection and the means how to remove them.[19]
The Dhamma teaches the human being to save
himself. It is not an act that another can do. It is what one does
oneself. Therefore the term “Salvation"
itself is not relevant in the Buddhist concept .The Buddhist concept is Nibbana.
As there is no interference of any agency in Buddhism, Buddhists do not like to
use the term Salvation as a synonym to Nibbana. It is quite clear that Buddhism teaches that
one is one's own refuge and one should never seek refuge in any external power.
That means each person has to work out his own salvation. Therefore in Buddhism
there is no Saviour who could save us from the samsaric fetters. Once the Buddha said that we are all bound to
Samsara and there is neither a beginning nor an end to this samsara. Perfection
in Buddhism is something developmental and real. Buddhism does not accept any
type of metaphysical or non-verifiable reality, but only an empirical reality.
The truth, Salvation or Nibbana, is to be realized by each and every individual
in this very lifetime and not after death. The Perfected One or the Enlightened
One is a free of bias and unfettered. He is psychologically and ethically fully
developed. He lives within society rendering a tremendous service to man.
It is said that birth is
suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering ,association with
the un-pleasant is suffering , dissociation from the pleasant
is suffering ,not to receive what one
desires is suffering; in
brief, the five aggregates of
grasping are suffering. On one occasion
by explaining his own experience, the
Buddha said that he himself being subject to birth, old age, sickness, death,
sorrow and impurity and knowing his subjection to the as evil, he sought the highest security i.e. Nibbana, which is
free from all these and succeeded in attaining Nibbana.
3.2.1 Ethical Aspect of Salvation
Buddhist ethics is fully endowed with
the capacity to achieve the ultimate goal, Nibbana. As an ethico-philosophical
teaching, it develops man's moral behaviour in daily life and uplifts him to
the bliss of Nibbana. Ethics teaches us how to conduct a good or moral life.
The result of such a moral life is the gaining or the supreme bliss or
realization of Nibbana.
The minimum resulting consequence of
ethics is a calm and peaceful life, and the maximum is the highest happiness.
There is a commendable and laudable ethical code in Buddhist teaching. Step by
step it takes one to the highest truth. It starts with generosity and morality.
The Buddha however, advises us to investigate things in the world. It is very
significant because it discourages blind faith. Faith based on fact, however,
is highly praised by the Buddha while faith without facts is condemned.
Listening to the Dhamma one keeps it in his mind and then examines it. Then one can understands well and develops a
desire for more Dhamma. This desire
helps one to make an effort. Thus one
turns round in one's mind and
reflects and reflection leads one to
meditate ,and meditation helps one to understand the Noble Truths completely,
even totally with body and mind, this is called understanding of Truth.
According to Buddhism, a person becomes a great man or a liberated man when his
mind, by the power that is within him, becomes enlightened enough to look at
life realistically.[20]
3.2.2 Psychological Aspects of Salvation
Buddhist Salvation is thoroughly
psychological transcendence within this world. According to early Buddhism, the
whole world could be reduced to five categories, namely Form, Sensation,
Perception, Volitional formation and Consciousness. Within this category vedana is the affective dimension, sanna and vinnana come under the cognitive dimension and Sankara comes under
the conative dimension. These five categories cannot be separated from one
another but may be distinguished from each other. Affective, cognitive and
conative are the psychological dimensions.
Our consciousness consists of these three dimensions. When one makes an effect to realize Salvation
or Nibbana, one strives to purify these three dimensions. Of the three
cognitive is dominant and could be modified and developed into a complete
realization of Nibbana. According to the Dhammapada, the one who
psychologically transcends this world is like water on a lotus leaf, like a
mustard seed on the point of a needle. He clings not to sensual pleasures.
In early Buddhist psychology there are
two major aspects, namely: Causal genesis of consciousness that is apart from
the condition on which it depends, there is no arising of consciousness. Reciprocal
dependence of consciousness that is the mind and matter depend on consciousness
and consciousness depends on mind.
Therefore it is obvious that mind is not
an independent entity. So the psycho-physical faculties are inseparable. On the
other hand, consciousness cannot be recognized as a permanent entity (atman).
It is a stream of thought (vinnanasota). Our mind or consciousness is something
manipulable so that it can be developed and, purified, in order to attain
Nibbana. The wise are those who categorically comprehend the cause for
existence of the five faculties and strive hard to develop them great faculty
of consciousness by weakening the dominance of sensation, perception and
volitional formation or conation.
3.3 The Middle Path
After leaving the ascetical school,
Buddha continued his search, reflecting on liberation and the path to it in
total solitude. He sought the reasons that keep men in an unliberated state and
there he discovered the real nature of man’s suffering, the cause of it, the
possibility of escape from it and the path for such and escape. He says that in
his own case, the Eightfold path worked wonderfully and yielded all the desired
results. The practice of the Middle Path brought him to a life of peace and
happiness that he had never enjoyed earlier.[21]
The Middle Path in Buddhism does not mean having a biased view or superficial
understanding only. The "Middle Path" represents a distinct theory
and way of Buddhist practice that is not common to other religions. Buddha
showed his friends the two extremes. One is that which is linked and connected
with lust, through sensuous pleasures, because it is low, of the uncultured, of
the mediocre man, ignoble and profitless. The other is that which is connected
with mortification and asceticism because it is painful, ignoble and incapable
of achieving the target.[22]
Thus Buddhism is a religion with high moral values. It lays great emphasis on
human thought and action in dealing with the natural environment, society or
individual problems. It is concerned with the relationship between thoughts and
behavior, and the relationship between behavior and its consequences. The
honest way of living life, that does not support the acceptance of orders or
actions given by someone outside oneself. "Beginnings and Endings are
easy. The middle is always the hardest part to write" says Charles
Dickens. "Middle" means neutral, upright, and centered. It means to
investigate and penetrate the core of life and all things with an upright,
unbiased attitude. In order to solve a problem, we should position ourselves on
neutral, upright and unbiased ground. We investigate the problem from various
angles, analyze the findings, understand the truth thoroughly, and find a
reasonable conclusion.
Finding balance is a difficult thing to
do, both as individuals and as a culture. We are all struggling to find balance
in a world out of balance. Moderation is very difficult in a world that insists
on pushing us to the extremes. The original Buddha, Shakyamuni, was a spoiled
Prince who's early life was one of indulgence.
Despite being shielded from the dark chaos of the outside world,
Shakyamuni finally became aware that so many people were suffering. He gave up
his privileged existence to go on a spiritual quest that led him to live an
ascetic lifestyle, starving and punishing himself. When he became so weak that
he was near to death, but still hadn't found the spiritual enlightenment he
sought, he came to realize his error. Neither the extreme of self-mortification
nor the excessive indulgence of his youth was the correct path. There had to be
a better way. Buddha told his followers, "Avoiding these two extremes is
where you find the enlightenment of the middle path, which brings insight and
knowledge and leads to higher consciousness and Nirvana." So how do we
find the middle ground in our lives today? We are living at a time where the
country is polarized politically either to the far right or the far left.
The gap between the rich and the poor
has been wider. Some religions speak in the extremes of purity or sin. Our
leaders tell us we have to choose between conquering or being conquered. If we
do not work enough hours we cannot make a living but we are working so many
hours many of us do not have a life. So where is the middle ground in all this?
Where is the midway view that the Buddha spoke of between poverty and wealth.
Terrorism is a word we have all become very familiar with over the years.
Terrorists are an example of an extreme viewpoint. It is good to fight for a
cause but 9/11 shows that even a cause can be taken way too far. It takes a
wise man to find a middle path between passive acceptance and violent overkill.
People like Gandhi were smart enough to find the middle path between bloodshed
and surrender. Avoiding both extremes is the path of the middle way. Too many of us have the same trouble
finding that center balance. We are too high or too low. We think of all the
things we go through in our lives and we wish that we could live in-between. If
only we can find the peace of a balanced universe. The center will hold, if we
can just find it.
3.4 The Eightfold Path
Everyone wants and desires to be free
from all sorts of attachments. The fullness of life which is everyone seeks
for. It is attained by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path. It describes the
way to the end of suffering, as it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a
practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing
the individual from attachments and delusions. It finally leads to
understanding the truth about all things. Together with the Four Noble Truths,
it constitutes the gist of Buddhism. Great emphasis is put on the practical
aspect, because it is only through practice that one can attain a higher level
of existence and finally reach Nirvana. The eight aspects of the path are not
to be understood as a sequence of single step, instead they are highly
interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each other.
Right view is the beginning and the end
of the path. It simply means to see and to understand things as they really are
and to realize the Four Noble Truth. As such, right view is the cognitive
aspect of wisdom. It means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and
imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of
karma and karmic conditioning. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual
capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead, right
view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It
begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and
it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Since our
view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields right
thoughts and right actions.
Right intention refers to the
volitional aspect, i.e. the kind of mental energy that controls our actions.
Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental
self-improvement. Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions: the
intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire, the
intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and aversion,
and the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly,
violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion.
Right speech is the first principle of ethical
conduct in the eightfold path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to
moral discipline, which supports the other principles of the path. This aspect
is not self-sufficient, however, essential, because mental purification can
only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. The importance of
speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save
lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained
right speech as follows: to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell
deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully, to abstain from slanderous speech
and not to use words maliciously against others, to abstain from harsh words that
offend or hurt others, and to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or
depth. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly,
warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary.
The second ethical principle, right
action, involves the body as natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds
that involve bodily actions. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of
mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Again, the
principle is explained in terms of abstinence: right action means to abstain
from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including
suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently, to abstain from taking
what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and
dishonesty, and to abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right
action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the
belongings of others and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others.
Right livelihood means that one should
earn one's living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally
and peacefully. The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other
beings and that one should avoid for this reason: dealing in weapons, dealing
in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave
trade and prostitution), working in meat production and butchery, and selling
intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other
occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action
should be avoided.
Right effort can be seen as a
prerequisite for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in
itself an act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort
distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will be the consequence. Mental
energy is the force behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or
unwholesome states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy,
aggression, and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty,
benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is given in four types of endeavours
that rank in ascending order of perfection: to prevent the arising of an arisen
unwholesome state, to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen, to
arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen and to maintain and perfect
wholesome states already arisen.
Right mindfulness is the controlled and
perfected faculty of cognition. It is the mental ability to see things as they
are, with clear consciousness. Usually, the cognitive process begins with an
impression induced by perception, or by a thought, but then it does not stay
with the mere impression. Instead, we almost always conceptualize sense
impressions and thoughts immediately. We interpret them and set them in
relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally go beyond the
facticity of the original impression. The mind then posits concepts, joins
concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs into complex
interpretative schemes. All this happen only half consciously, and as a result
we often see things obscured. Right mindfulness is anchored in clear perception
and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness
enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualization in a way that we
actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted for this
as the four foundations of mindfulness: contemplation of the body,
contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral), contemplation of
the state of mind and contemplation of the phenomena.
The eighth principle of the path, right
concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in
natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely
concentration. Concentration in this context is described as one-pointedness of
mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto
one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold
path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts
and actions. The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is
through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected
object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and
finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it
becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration also in everyday
situations.[23]
Religion lays down the general lines of
conduct by which a person will live his or her daily life. It lays down rules
in such matters as respect for the lives of others, intoxicating liquors,
marriage, divorce, and means of livelihood. For the believer it thus colors his
or her whole attitude towards matters like birth, sex, family limitation,
death, and the afterlife. Transgression of the religious code entails feelings
of guilt, so the religion that one follows has a profound influence, shaping
one's entire outlook on life as well as one's attitudes, whether in wholesome
ways or in unwholesome ways.
CHAPTER FOUR
CULTURAL IMPACT
The culture of India is one of the
oldest and unique. In India, there is amazing cultural diversity throughout the
country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and
almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche. There is hardly any
culture in the world that is as varied and unique as India. India is a vast
country, having variety of geographical features and climatic conditions. India
is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, including four major world
religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Buddhist culture is
perennial and so is as fresh today as it was in the Buddha's time 2500 years
ago. It is also self-sufficient, self-consistent, and self-sustaining. Based as
it is on eternal verities, verifiable by individual experience, it is never
obsolete, and animates the progress that seems to kill it. Nor does its content
changes with context.
The impact of Buddhism on world culture
was truly significant. In it, there is no intellectual error, based as it is on
reason and on the bedrock of personal experience. It is free from moral
blindness, for its ethics is truly lofty, guided by a rational basis for such
an ethic, namely, personal evolution in terms of one's own kamma. It engendered no social perversity - hate and intolerance
were for none, limitless loving-kindness and compassion were for all. The doors
to deliverance were opened to anyone who wished to enter them. The thrilling
message of reason, universal benevolence, flaming righteousness, social
justice, hope, and deliverance in this very existence by one's own exertion -
all had a fertilizing and liberating influence on thought and action wherever
Buddhism spread.
4.1 Art and Architecture
Art is basically a medium of human
communication. It can help in the education of the emotions and is one of the
civilizing agencies of humankind. The work of the artist, no matter whether
painter, dramatist, sculptor, or writer, is worthy of study because it has a
certain expressiveness which both reveals and stimulates fresh insights. The
artist sees new meanings in objects and experience that ordinarily escape the
rest of us, and thus he creates new values and insights in life.
Rightly viewed as the expression of the
good life, and as an aid to living it and not for mere enjoyment and
appreciation art can therefore ennoble us. For example, the tranquility and
peace that one sees in the Samadhi statue of the Buddha elevates the mind,
stimulates confidence, and induces reverence for the Dhamma. In all Buddhist
lands, the images of the Buddha and the Bodhisatta have become the typical form
of artistic expression.
Each era is unique in its distinctive
culture. In the same way Indian art forms have continuously evolved over
thousands of years. In ancient India, various art forms like paintings,
architecture and sculpture evolved. The history of art in ancient India begins
with prehistoric rock paintings. In his efforts to propagate Buddhism, Ashoka
built shrines and monasteries and inscribed Buddhist teachings on rocks and
pillars in many places. In spite of the
ravages of time and destruction by Indian and foreign fanatics, Buddhism is
still speaking vividly and majestically through its thousands of inscriptions,
about one thousand rock-cut sanctuaries and monasteries, thousands of ruined stupas
and monastic establishments and an incalculable number of icons, sculptures,
paintings and emblems, that it prevailed universally among the classes and
masses of India for over fifteen centuries after the age of the Buddha, and
that its ideas of compassion, peace, love, benevolence, rationalism, spiritualism
and renunciation had formed the core of the superstructure of ancient Indian
thought and culture.[24]
The stupas of Sanchi are world famous
and the stupa named Sanchi stupa was built by emperor Ashoka. During the
remaining portion of Ashoka’s reign, he pursued an official policy of
nonviolence (Ahimsa). Even the
unnecessary slaughter or mutilation of animals was immediately abolished.
Everyone became protected by the king’s law against sport hunting and branding.
Limited hunting was permitted for consumption reasons but Ashoka also promoted
the concept of vegetarianism. Ashoka also showed mercy to those imprisoned,
allowing them leave for the outside a day of the year. He attempted to raise
the professional ambition of the common man by building universities for study,
and water transit and irrigation systems for trade and agriculture. He treated
his subjects as equals regardless of their religion, politics and caste. The
kingdoms surrounding his, so easily overthrown, were instead made to be well-respected
allies. He is acclaimed for constructing hospitals for animals and renovating
major roads throughout India.
4.2 Language and Literature
If we look at the field of language and
literature, we will find that the Buddhist contribution to Indian languages and
literature was matched only by the richness and variety of the Buddhist
religion and philosophy. The development of Pali and its literature was wholly
due to Buddhism. But Pali was not the only area which contributed to the
flowering of the Buddhist tradition. The vast amount of Pali texts, canonical
and non-canonical, is the contribution of only one major branch, doubtless one
of the most ancient and orthodox branches of Buddhism. Several other schools of
Buddhism cultivated varieties of Buddhist Sanskrit and varieties of Buddhist
Prakrit. The Buddhist intellectuals of Ancient India contributed not only to
what is now called Buddhist Sanskrit and its varieties but also to what is
called Paninian or Classical Sanskrit.
The contribution of Buddhism to the
psychological literature of ancient India has perhaps never been equaled in the
literature of Brahmanical yoga. The psychological advances made by the
Abhidhamma (Super-Law Basket) schools of Buddhist thought deserve detailed
study in the light of contemporary psychology developed in the west. The
problems of Abhidhamma psychology have hardly been studied yet in relation to
the psychology of Tantrika yoga and the Siddha culture. A study of devotional
meditation (bhakti-yoga), of its techniques and terminology as revealed in the
Hindi literature of mediaeval saint-poets, is likely to throw important light
on the transmission and transformation of the classical Buddhist system of dhyana.
It is well known that the first dramatist of Sanskrit literature was a
Buddhist poet, Ashvaghosa. Fragments of three dramas in Sanskrit, including the
fragments of the Sariputraprakarana, a drama by Ashvaghosa, have come to light
from Central Asian Buddhist ruins. Ashvaghosa was the forerunner of classical
Sanskrit dramatists like Bhasa and Kalidasa.
Buddhist poets were pioneers also in
the composition of hymns of praise (stotra, stava, stuti) in Sanskrit. The
Bhakti-shataka of Ramacandra Bharati was perhaps the last hymn in praise of the
Buddha composed in Sanskrit by an Indian Buddhist poet. One of the latest
contributions made by the Buddhists to the literature of India was in the form
of dohas or gitis (songs) composed by Buddhist siddhas (adepts in Tantrika
culture) in Apabhraṃṣa. This language seems to have been the mother of several
modern Indian languages including Hindi, Oriya and Bengali. The terms and
concepts of Buddhism were transmitted by the siddhas through the medium of
their Apabhraṃṣa poems to mediaeval lore of saint-poets. Unfortunately only a
small portion of the siddha literature has survived to this day.
Finally, we can mention the
contributions of Buddhist writers to Sanskrit grammar and lexicography. A
Buddhist scholar named Sarvavarman wrote the Katantra, in which he tried to
build a new system of Sanskrit grammar. He possibly lived in or about the
second century CE. In the eighth century a commentary was written on Katantra
by one Durgasiṃha. The Buddhist scholar, Candragomin, (circa 500 CE) wrote the
Candravyakaraṇa with an auto-commentary (vṛtti) on it. It became the standard
grammatical treatise in most Buddhist countries of Asia. The Buddhist logician
Jinendrabodhi wrote the Kasika-Vivaraṇapanjika also known as Nyasa, a
commentary on the Kasikaof Jayaditya and Vamana. Fragments of a manuscript in
eight leaves of a synonymical dictionary in Sanskrit were purchased by F. Weber
at Leh in Ladakh. The author of this dictionary is believed to have been a
Buddhist scholar and these fragments are supposed to be the oldest fragments of
any dictionary in Sanskrit known so far. Another Sanskrit dictionary which
seems to have originated in Buddhist literary circles was the Utpalini compiled
by Vyaḍi. The existence of this dictionary is known from quotations from it in
some later commentaries. Vyaḍi may or may not have been a Buddhist by faith but
he seems to have drawn largely on Buddhist literary sources.[25]
CHAPTER FIVE
POLITICAL IMPACT
Buddhism has contributed significantly
to the development of the forms and institution of civil government, including
the ideals of kingship, in ancient India. The Buddhism gives primacy to the
universally applicable social ethic, projected as the law that protects
society, and not to conquest.[26]
Ashoka was one of the most powerful kings of the Indian subcontinent. The role
of the Buddhism in the formation of Indian history is seemly amazing. The
identification of ancient India with Hindu culture became so marked that even
the Buddhists were regarded with some suspicion. There are two approaches to an
attempt at understanding the rights of the human being in the Hindu and
Buddhist tradition. First of all, the metaphysical aspect provides a small
group of thinkers. Metaphysical thought certainly contributes to the ethos of a
society, but this contribution becomes fairly diluted by the time it reaches
the concrete reality of a legal code. The second and more significant aspect of
the study is provided by the Law Books themselves which draw a more distinct picture
of the legal framework.
Brahmanical sources ignored the
chiefdoms but the latter drew their legitimacy from contemporary Buddhist,
Jaina, Ajivika and other heterodox thinkers, referred to jointly as the Shramanas.
Buddhist theory argued for a social contract, but one devoid of divine
intervention since at this time gods were largely extraneous to the Buddhist
scheme of things. The confrontation between kingdoms and chiefdoms, therefore,
was not restricted to the eventual conquest of the latter by the former, but
also included the continuing and opposed theoretical explanations of how the
polities evolved.[27]
This duality of thought moved along parallel paths and is especially evident in
discussions on social ethics, notably in the context of the debate on ahimsa or
non-violence. Whereas Brahmanical views held that violence was justified if
social obligation required it, the Buddhist view was firm that conforming to
the Middle Way of avoiding extremes should be the more persuasive ethic.
Sakyamuni was a teacher also of the
principles of righteous government, individual freedom and the rule of law. The
seven conditions of stability of a republican body which he suggested to the
Magadhan diplomat, Vassakara, are words of social wisdom still relevant to our
contemporary political life. The influence of Buddhism on ancient Indian
political theory and administrative organization could be understood in the
light of Buddhist speculations concerning the origin of state and government, the
Buddhist organization of the Bhikkhu-Sangha and its impact on democratic states
of ancient India, the influence of the Buddha’s teachings on kings, queens, and
their vassals and ministers and certain concepts and institutions, concerning
political life, which were inspired by Buddhist teaching.
The early part of Ashoka’s reign was
apparently quite bloodthirsty but he became a follower of the Buddha’s teaching
after his conquest of Kalinga on the east coast of India in at present in the states
of Orissa and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. The brutality of the conquest led
him to adopt Buddhism, and he used his position to propagate the relatively new
religion to new heights, as far as ancient Rome and Egypt. He made Buddhism his
state religion around 260 BC, and propagated it and preached it within his
domain and worldwide from about 250 BC.
Emperor Ashoka undoubtedly has to be
credited with the first serious attempt to develop a Buddhist policy. It
appears that India owes to Ashoka the idea of a welfare state as well as the
idea of a secular state, secular in the sense not of a state without any
religion but in the sense that political administration of a state should be
free, as far as possible, from sectarian principles and must respect the truly
religious sentiments of different votaries that dwell in a particular state.
Both these ideas are suggested by the inscriptions of Ashoka. Ashokan ideals of kingship were directly
responsible for the growth of the idea of a welfare state free from the
exclusive influence of a particular church.
The idea of dharmavijaya or
conquest by righteousness practiced and propagated by Ashoka was inspired by
Buddhist morality. This grand concept remained an ideal for many kings who came
after Ashoka. It does not seem to have been merely an imperial boast of Ashoka
when he declared that he had gained a righteous victory by silencing the
war-drums and by beating the drums of righteousness (Dharma-ghosa) throughout
his empire and along its frontiers.[28]
The Buddhist theory relates a different
sequence of events. It postulates a golden age which gradually decayed through
the institution of private property and other social evils. In the Buddhist
theory the emphasis is on the quasi-contractual nature of the beginnings of
government and on the sovereignty of the people. The latter idea remained
central to Buddhist political thinking but it was never taken a step further
and developed into a theory of the rights of the people. There was no attempt
to provide a divine origin for the evolution of the social structure in
Buddhist thought.
5.1 Ahimsa
Non- violence (Ahimsa) was one of the most important fundamental ethics for
Buddhists. This was the idea as an ethical value of Buddha. He objected the
sacrifice of animals during yajna,
the sacrificial ceremony essential to the Vedic Brahmanical religion. Ahimsa can also be explained as a
reaction among the new urban groups to the prestige economy of non-urban
societies, who were willfully destroying wealth to no purpose. Sacrifice as an
offering; it lies not in the destruction of life but in the embodiment of moral
values. It became the foundation of ethical behavior in honouring parents and
all household from highest to the lowest, in having patience, meekness and
self-control.
Ashoka took Ahimsa as his tool. Conscious non- violence was expressive of the
highest ethical stand. For Buddhism Dharma took on the characteristic of an
omniscient presence symbolized in the turning of the wheel of the law. Ashoka
defined the main principles of Dharma (Dhamma) as nonviolence, tolerance of all
sects and opinions, obedience to parents, respect for the Brahmans and other
religious teachers and priests, liberality towards friends, humane treatment of
servants, and generosity towards all. These principles suggest a general ethic
of behaviour to which no religious or social group could object. The Jaina
understanding of the Ahimsa appears
to be an extreme position involving all created beings and the attempt to preserve
them from destruction. Everything that has life, has a right to live; and to
destroy life, no matter what its form, is a crime. Gandhi sees Ahimsa very differently. For him Ahimsa is the manifestation of pure
love. When such Ahimsa becomes
all-embracing, it transforms everything it touches. There is no limit to its
power.[29]
Conscious non-violence was expressive of the highest ethical stand but it
should not be confused with cowardice. The credibility of non-violence can only
stem from a belief in man’s innate virtue. It has been argued that the Buddha’s
Ahimsa represents the negative
philosophy of pacifism.
5.2 Method in the Politics
The method which Buddha used in his
politics was amazing. The Buddha was the first man who discovered that not the
results of our human thinking, or ideas or opinions, beliefs or disbeliefs, or
so called ‘eternal Truths’ or in the form of scientific formulas and statements
– is what matters, but the method behind it. We may lose all our precious
results of science and all our inventions; it would not harm us in the long run
if we remember the method of doing those things. We can make all the
discoveries and scientific results if we remember the method which we
undertake. Therefore mere facts, or the results of other people’s thinking, are
a great danger to the human mind, and an education which is based on the
storing up of facts and ready-made thoughts in the minds of young people can
only lead to mental sterilization.[30]
Since the Buddha himself belonged to a
feudal monarchy, he knew the conditions of the poor people in front of the rich
and the powerful. He had seen his father ruling in the monarchy. Having seen
widespread dukkha (suffering), he had
left his kingdom to seek sukkha for
the people. He learnt from the life system of the tribal (gana). Gana was a
tribal unit. Families of a tribe lived in close proximity with one another.
They were interrelated. They, by common consent, chose a person to be a
guardian and protector of the people. The chosen person was not a hereditary
chief. He was called rajaniya and the people of the tribe were called vijjians.
He appreciated the method which he learnt from these tribes. He made use of it
for his purposes in the new group which he founded. He addressed his beloved disciple
Ananda of the vijjians:
“O Ananda! so long as the vijjians come together in concord,
so long as they discuss matters of the tribe in concord, so long as they rise
together in concord, so long as they carry out in concord the duties of the
tribe, they will not decline, but prosper.”[31]
Tribal organization became powerful and
effective since it followed the consent system or because it acted according to
the concord. Successful life of a tribal organization was based on concord,
which can be understood as the agreement in all aspects of the life of people.
The Buddha observed, on the other hand, that the feudal monarchies when a
person becomes rajaniya on the expense of his followers, he assumed authority
and control of people in his own person. He forgets his job of being a guide
and protector of people and becomes an autocrat and an oppressor. Lust for
power and pleasure become the sole motive forces for such oppressors. A common
man is suppressed and denied of common benefits of life, such as the use of
owning of his own land, access to sources of water, either from wells or rivers.
The Buddha watched all these things
before his enlightenment, and having pondered over such conditions, he evolved
a middle way of life for his Sangha
after his enlightenment. All these experiences were lessons of learning for his
life. He made use all of this as the method to work out in the Sangha and also in the organization he
started.
CONCLUSION
All the above reasons and role which
Buddhism played in the formation of Indian history are simply amazing. There
are still many more things which can be said about Buddhism. If we want to
discover all the contributions which the Buddhism made in India is less only.
Because we cannot give justice to it through our words since it cannot justify
our feelings and sentiments which we have in our hearts. It brought great
difference in our society. It was pioneer in giving due rights and justice to
women and untouchables. A remarkable
feature of Buddhism is its universality. The scope of the Buddhist teaching is
co-extensive with the whole of humanity. It is not a religion of a particular
race or chosen people. Its holy books and its noble practices are open to
people of all lands.
Buddhism aimed at the enlightenment of
all beings. Its teachings are universal and not relative to a particular
geographical area or country. Although it originated in India, it soon made the
world its home. The Buddha had directed his pupils to disseminate the doctrine
of pure conduct and higher life in all directions. This universality or
cosmopolitanism was not shared by Vedic and Upaniṣadic doctrines. The Vedic Brahmaṇas
zealously guarded their scriptures and the techniques of sacrificial rituals
were the special crafts of priests. The Upaniṣads continued this tradition of
secrecy and class consciousness. It was in Buddhism, for the first time in
history, that the doors of spiritual perfection were opened wide for all those
who sought it.
Men and women of all castes and of no
castes were given the full freedom to live a pure life in quest of good rebirth
and ultimate release. In this tradition there is no eternal hell or purgatory
nor an eternal paradise. Everyone has the freedom to work out one’s destiny.
Even the most evil and vicious person could attain not only heaven but also
liberation, and the greatest of gods was subject to the law of kamma and conditioned genesis. The
supreme goal had been announced for one and all, the doctrine (Dhamma) and the
method (vinaya) had been expounded by the torch-bearer of humanity out of
supreme compassion for the living beings. This ideal of great compassion,
wholly absent in the Vedas, came to be the mark of the Buddhist way. Thus we
can say confidently that it was Buddhism which made India as she is today in
many fields.
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Thapar,
Romila. EARLY INDIA FROM THE ORIGINS TO
AD 1300. California: University of California Press Berkeley Los Angeles,
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Thapar,
Romila. The Mauryan empire in early
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Thapar,
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Ahmad-Shah,
E. Buddhism and Christian Faith. Lucknow:
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Antony. BUDDHISM and CHRISTIANITY their
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Gandhi,
M. K. Mahadev Dasai. (Trans.). AN
AUTOBIOGRAPHY or The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Ahmedabad:
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Govinda,
Lama Anagarika. The Psychological
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Jamanadas,
K. F. R. C. S. Ed. “Dalitstan Journal”, Volume 1, Issue 3, Dec 1999.
Joshi,
L. M. Aspects of Buddhism in Indian
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Karma
& Lekshe & Tsomo. (Ed.). Buddhist
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Ambedkar and Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal
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[1] E. Ahmad-Shah, Buddhism and
Christian Faith (Lucknow: Lucknow Publishing House, 1973), 3-4.
[2] Lama Anagarika Govinda, The
Psychological Attitude of Early Buddhist Philosophy (London: Rider and
Company Great Portland Street, 1969), 39.
[3] Romila Thapar, “The Politics of Religious Communities,” Cultural Pasts- Essays in Early Indian
History (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000), 1096-1101.
[4] Romila Thapar, Ancient Indian
Social History (New Delhi: Orient Longman Ltd., 1978), 59.
[5] L. M. Joshi, Aspects of
Buddhism in Indian History (Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society 2006),
21-24.
[6] Romila Thapar, EARLY INDIA
FROM THE ORIGINS TO AD 1300 (California: University of California Press Berkeley
Los Angeles, 2002), 306.
[7] Ibid., 307-309.
[8] Romila Thapar, Ancient Indian
Social History (New Delhi: Orient Longman Ltd., 1978), 96.
[9] Dr. K. Jamanadas, F.R.C.S.Ed., “Dalitstan Journal”, Volume 1, Issue
3, Dec 1999.
[10] E. Ahmad-Shah, Buddhism and
Christian Faith (Lucknow: Lucknow Publishing House, 1973), 38.
[11] Sangharakshita, Ambedkar and
Buddhism (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, 2006), 12.
[12] Romila Thapar, Ancient Indian
Social History (New Delhi: Orient Longman Ltd., 1978), 54.
[13] Romila Thapar, EARLY INDIA
FROM THE ORIGINS TO AD 1300 (California: University of California Press
Berkeley Los Angeles, 2002), 193.
[14] Karma Lekshe Tsomo,(Ed.), Buddhist
Women Across Cultures (Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, Indological and
Oriental Publishers, 2000), 55.
[15] Ibid., 69.
[16] Antony Fernando, BUDDHISM and
CHRISTIANITY their inner affinity (Colombo: Ecumenical Institute for Study
and Dialogue, 1981), 15-16.
[17] Ibid., 202-203.
[18] E. Ahmad-Shah, Buddhism and
Christian Faith (Lucknow: Lucknow Publishing House, 1973), 24-26.
[19] Lama Anagarika Govinda, The
Psychological Attitude of Early Buddhist Philosophy (London: Rider and
Company Great Portland Street, 1969), 67.
[20] Antony Fernando, BUDDHISM and
CHRISTIANITY their inner affinity (Colombo: Ecumenical Institute for Study
and Dialogue, 1981), 10.
[21] Ibid., 22.
[22] Ibid., 15-16.
[23] Ibid., 58-93.
[24] L. M. Joshi, Aspects of
Buddhism in Indian History (Colombo: Buddhist Publication Society 2006), 14.
[25] Ibid., 18-21.
[26] Romila Thapar, The Mauryan
empire in early India, Historical Research, vol. 79, no. 205 (August 2006),
293.
[27] Ibid., 290.
[28] L. M. Joshi, Aspects of
Buddhism in Indian History (Colombo: Buddhist Publication Society 2006), 16-17.
[29] M. K. Gandhi, AN
AUTOBIOGRAPHY or The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Ahmedabad:
Navajivan Publishing House, 1927), 26.
[30] Lama Anagarika Govinda, The
Psychological Attitude of Early Buddhist Philosophy (London: Rider and
Company Great Portland Street, 1969), 41.
[31] E. Ahmad-Shah, Buddhism and
Christian Faith (Lucknow: Lucknow Publishing House, 1973), 36.
